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Alice's picture

Bands crossing gender binaries

 Recently (last Friday) I went to see a band at Lundt Basement at Haverford called Starfucker and apart from the awesome music, what really struck me was that each band member was in drag. Playing in flower dresses and wearing red lipstick, the band added this whole new element of performance to their, well, performance. When I watched an interview with the band after the show, they were asked about wearing drag and I found their answer intriguing and very relevant to our class discussions. They talked about how putting on non-gender conforming clothing helped them to take on this new identity, an identity they referred to as being more real. By dressing in women's clothing, they are able to create a separation between their "real-life" selves and their job as musicians. What I found particularly interesting was how you begin to appreciate the music for simply the music, as opposed to crazy fans throwing themselves all over the male musicians (as is typically the case). I actually love the band more now that I know that they are conscious of gender binaries and are contributing, in whatever small way, to questioning these binaries and why they are in place. I only wonder if my opinion would be different if I were a male fan...would their performance be of less significance? 

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